Reunion
by Pharaohess
Summary: Doomsday spoilers... Post Doomsday, another reunion fic for the Doctor and Rose. While investigating a disturbance at Stonehenge, Rose runs into someone familiar...
1. Chapter 1

Ok, ok, yes, I wrote a reunion story. I couldn't help myself! I had just re-watched _Army of Ghosts_ and _Doomsday_, I was sad…I wrote a happy story. It's pretty bad, I'll warn you now…

(Oh, and Donna? The Bride? Nah, didn't happen. Discount the last ten seconds of the season for this…)

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"Here you are, living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have." He smiled slightly at his thought, his eyes on the weeping figure before him.

Rose could hardly speak, she was crying so much. "Am I ever going to see you again?"

The Doctor paused, watching his companion, unable to console. "You can't."

This made Rose cry harder. He hadn't said that, he just hadn't. Wasn't she allowed one spark of hope? She tried to pull herself together. "What are you going to do?"

"I've got the TARDIS. Same old life. Last of the Time Lords."

"On your own?" He nodded, grim acceptance of the fact showing in his eyes. Rose's tears wouldn't stop, even though what she had to say next was the most important. There had been other times, other places she could've said it, and it would have been the best feeling in the world. Here, though, on a cold beach in Norway, standing before a hologram of a man she couldn't touch and would never see again, it was her last chance. Not really the way she wanted to tell him, but it was now or never. And it couldn't be never.

"I…" she trailed off, tears making it hard to speak. She took a shaky breath and tried again. "I love you."

His eyes shined and he cracked a small smile. "Quite right, too. And I suppose… if it's my last chance to say it… Rose Tyler…"

And he faded, his words left unspoken. Rose brought a hand up to her mouth and cried even harder. He was going to say it, he was…wasn't he? Standing alone, crying on the sand of Bad Wolf Bay, Rose turned and began to slowly walk back to the small group waiting for her. Jackie came forward to meet her, and took her daughter in her arms as Rose cried inconsolably, her heart shattered.

In a separate universe, inside the TARDIS, the Doctor almost kept speaking, even though it was only to an empty room, before deciding against it. He bowed his head, as complete loss and helplessness overcame him. He brought his hands up to his face and wiped away the tears that had begun, before raising his head and sighing. Reaching out to the TARDIS controls, he half-heartedly operated his ship, despair and sorrow settling over him.

_ooooo Two Years Later ooooo_

Rose rolled out of bed. It was 7:45, and she had to be at work by nine. Mickey was coming back to pick her up at ten to (as he'd had to go into Torchwood early), and Jackie had said that Pete wanted to see her as soon as she was in. She stretched, and began to wake herself up.

At 8:50am, Mickey pulled up outside, and Rose ran down the outside stairs, hurriedly locking the door behind her. She got into the car next to him, throwing her bag over the back, and the two of them set off for Torchwood Tower. On arrival, ten or so minutes later, they both made their way up to Pete's office on the top floor, as Pete also wanted to see Mickey.

Torchwood had changed since the Cybermen and the business with the breach and the Void two years ago. Pete had become the head of Torchwood, and the general joking consensus of the employees was that it was a family affair – Pete Tyler, head of Torchwood, his wife Jackie was his assistant, and his daughter, Rose (who had appeared one day without much explanation – it was believed she had been at a boarding school most of her life) was one of Torchwood's top field agents. Ricky Smith was another top field agent (although, strangely enough, the Tyler's tended to call him Mickey), along with Jake – and there was something about their relationships that told the other employees that there was so much more beneath the surface. These five had been through something. Nonetheless, Torchwood was functioning more smoothly than it ever had with Pete at the helm.

Mickey and Rose passed through the Watchers on the way to Pete's office. The Watchers were Torchwood employees who monitored all signs and reports of paranormal and extra-terrestrial activity, from conspiracy Internet sites to top-secret military files, looking for things out of the ordinary. They sat in a big room (which took up most of the floor) each behind a desk, scanning files and following up leads. It wasn't as boring as it sounded (Rose had had a go at being a Watcher once, before she decided on being a field agent), and the Watchers themselves were friendly, sociable people, and today was no different – they greeted Rose and Mickey as the passed through to Pete's office, which was at the back.

Jackie, who had been employed as Pete's assistant, looked up from her computer as they entered. "Hello, sweethearts!"

"Hey, mum." Rose gave her mum a hug.

"Pete's waiting for you. Said he's got something big for you to investigate." Jackie nodded knowledgeably. "I swear I heard the word Stonehenge."

Rose and Mickey exchanged a glace. "Stonehenge?"

"Yeah. Don't keep him waiting," said Jackie, ushering them into Pete's office, where the man himself was waiting at his computer. He stood as they entered.

"Morning Rose, Mickey." He hugged Rose and shook Mickey's hand.

Rose and Mickey took their places opposite him. "What we got?"

"Increase in lay-line activity at Stonehenge. Energy increase peaked about an hour ago, then went back to what it is now, which is still higher than usual," Pete said, turning to his computer and hitting up something. "Take a look."

He spun the screen around to face them, and Mickey and Rose studied the report on the screen. It showed a few graphs, some photos, and, above all, what the Torchwood chemical and matter sensors had picked up.

"Unidentified proteins, mixture of silver particles and an unknown stone…" Rose read, before her eyes flicked to the next one and she stopped. "Void matter? Are you sure?"

Pete nodded. "Ran the scan through five times. What do you think?"

Rose paused before she spoke, putting her thoughts in order. "I think…it's something that's come through the time vortex, that's for sure. No," she added, seeing Mickey and Pete exchange a glance. "It ain't. It can't be, cause a dimension breach would've been picked up – they're big, like, a major source of energy, remember?" _And I would know. I would know if he set foot here._

Pete nodded. Mickey looked at the screen again. "You want us to go check it out, yeah?"

"The last scout we sent hasn't come back. He went out of contact hours ago, there's been no word since. You know that means - I'd say that merits a visit from you two." The Torchwood communications were specially designed, so much so that an interruption or breakdown usually was a good indicator of alien activity.

"Kay, Pete." They both got up to leave.

"Make sure you look after yourselves. You're the best we got. And…" Pete looked at Rose. "You know Jackie would never forgive me if anything happened to either of you."

Rose nodded, smiling. Getting out of the city…everyday different…investigating alien life and making contact…secretly helping to save the world…this was why Rose chose to be one of the Torchwood field agents instead of having been a Watcher, or one of their scientists (she didn't like science that much anyway), or in research, or the head of a sector. Mickey had almost agreed to become head of the Computers sector, but had changed his mind when he realised this meant he would be stuck at Torchwood. Instead, he and Rose both choose to be field agents and commonly worked together.

Passing through Jackie's office again, Jackie stood to greet them both. She had changed a bit in the past few years, ever since moving to this world, and Rose had to admit it was kinder to her than their original London. She now understood much of the scientific and extra-terrestrial jargon that was spouted at Torchwood, and was an efficient and competent assistant to Pete (although she still cared deeply about other people and was always making tea for those who wanted it. Rose had a sneaking suspicion that she wanted to prove that she was more of a 'people-person' than Yvonne had been).

"He's sending you to Stonehenge, ain't he?"

"Yeah mum. Shouldn't be much."

Jackie's face grew grim. "I know what's going on, Rose. That scout disappeared, and now you're going gallivanting off to the same place. That's dangerous, that is."

"Mum, we'll be fine. Mickey and I've done this a hundred times before."

"I still worry. Mother's worry. Take care of yourselves, kay?" she gave a weak smile, so Rose hugged her. "Mum, we'll be alright, yeah? See you later."

Jackie watched the two of them leave. She had long ago given up on trying desperately to protect her daughter. Yes, Rose had almost died many times in her past adventures, from a missile hitting Downing Street to the thing with the breach. Jackie had tried to save her daughter, but had come to realise that the Doctor, wherever he was now, had shown her more than could be imagined, could be speculated. For all the danger they got themselves into, the stories Rose told were amazing, and Jackie saw her daughter's eyes glowing as she recounted another alien invasion, or attack, or conspiracy. One day, Rose wouldn't come back. But that was the risk of working at Torchwood, the risk they all took. Jackie knew Rose was doing what she wanted to, but, even so, always prayed for her – and Mickey's – safety whenever they left.

After a quick stop off for supplies (as in weapons, computer scanning equipment, food, rope and anything else they might need) Rose and Mickey headed off in one of Torchwood's jeeps, Mickey driving. It usually took three or fours hours to drive out there, but to them it took no time at all – field work with an old friend skipped all business formalities and allowed easy chatting.

Upon their arrival, which was around half past one, Rose and Mickey prepared themselves for what ever might be lurking, arming themselves with one of Torchwood's weaponry advancements – a gun, somewhere between a sonic blaster and a disintegrator beam. It worked against most threats, and it was easy to use. Its 'official' name was a T2SubIon36, but the nickname it had gained was Iceion, due to the colour of the beam it emitted.

Clipping an Iceion to her belt (along with a short, sharp combat knife made of an unknown, but very tough, alien metal), Rose and Mickey began to quickly set up their monitoring equipment. It was vital they did this quickly, as the sooner the scanners were up and running, the sooner they could get an idea of what was going on.

"Got it!" Mickey cried triumphantly as he flicked his laptop open and brought the Torchwood monitoring system online. "There's no sign of Chris' equipment, and the increase in the energy field Pete told us about is holding steady. Whatever it is, it's still here."

Behind him, Rose nodded, casing a glace towards the distant circle of standing stones. She could see nothing out of the ordinary at that moment, although because of her angle the centre circle of stones was hidden. Still, there must be something to upset the lay line like that. That sort of thing always had a reason.

Mickey hit a few buttons. "So Rose, what you think?"

"It's still here. Can't be Daleks, or Cybermen – they wouldn't be keeping quiet. The sky's clear and there's no ship, so that rules out the Sycorax. Gelth need people around – why appear somewhere as quiet as this?"

"Jagrafess?"

"Nah, they need the cold. Like, really cold. And they're a massive blob. We'd know if they were here. What about the ones you went after? The…Fillamens?"

Mickey scrunched up his eyes. "Nope. Bright orange and sociable? They'd be all over us by now."

Rose closed her eyes, running through the possible alien races that could be here. Not the Seksis, couldn't be the Yeral. Neruin needed water, Dedli were a desert-style people. There was no visible ship, and getting here without being picked up by Torchwood on radar would take some sort of stealth technology. That wasn't a good sign…

Mickey closed the laptop, and pulled his blaster from its holster. "Shall we?"

Rose followed suit, as the two of them crept towards the stone circle. At the edge, Rose, now with a clear (if misty) view of the stones, could see…nothing.

They appeared empty. No strange glows, no lights, no creatures, no one around. Rose was puzzled. Chris had been here, he had been sent here. So where was he? The lay line activity increase pointed to something alien, as did Chris' disappearance, so why was Stonehenge deserted?

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Aw, endy of chappie. It will get better, I promise. Don't give up hope now, better is coming!


	2. Chapter 2

Next chapter. A better one, in my opinion. Oh, and I don't own Doctor Who. Wish I did, really – I'd be forever flying around, screwing up history in the TARDIS with the Doctor. Man, wouldn't that be great?

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Exchanging a glance with Mickey, Rose crept forward to the centre, her gun still in a defence position. But there was nothing there. Rose stepped into the centre of the stones and looked pointlessly around as Mickey joined her. "Well?"

"You guess is as good as mine, Mickey-boy."

They were both still standing, guns lowered before the bigger, inner arches when Rose heard something. It was quiet, like an inhaled breath, but she heard it clearly – and from the look on Mickey's face, he had too. "Did you…?"

"Yeah," Rose whispered in reply, casting a careful glance around her. She could see nothing, still…but what had made that sound?

Mickey grabbed her arm, a stunned expression across his face. "Rose…"

Rose turned back, to see the gap between the two archways before them beginning to glow a bloody red. She could see shapes across the other side, through a red haze, and backed away with Mickey as they began to get clearer. Something, or _things,_ were coming through.

Mickey and Rose hid behind the stones and watched five creatures come through the red glow. They were humanoid (that is to say, two arms and two legs), wearing long robes so their bodies were covered. Three thin claws were at the each of each arm – supposedly on their version of a hand. Masks of some kind, complete with silvery visor and breathing apparatus, covered their faces. All five held mean looking weapons: rather large and bulky guns (Rose guessed they were guns), and their claws seemed to be weapons alone.

But what did they want?

They seemed to be confused, looking and pointing at the stones. Rose couldn't understand their speech…there was some translation software in the jeep…but it was outside the stones. If they moved, they might be seen. Were these aliens friendly? There was always that possibility. Travelling with the Doctor, Rose had learned long ago not to judge a book by its cover. These terrifying creatures might be friendly. Might.

Mickey nudged her as one creature dropped what it had been carrying. Rose almost made a horrified noise as she saw what it was – Chris, their fellow agent. Clearly dead, slash and blaster marks attributing his demise to the same beings that carried him. As the carrier dumped his body unceremoniously on the ground, another reached inside its robe and drew out a long, thin rod. It stabbed the rod through Chris's body, and unfurled something from it. It was a pennant, silver with a green symbol in the corner. Mickey and Rose swapped a look and spoke together.

"Flag."

Mickey shook his head, watching the aliens. "I think it's safe to say this is an invasion?"

"Not enough soldiers. Might be a scout group or something. Or maybe more of them through that…well, whatever it is."

"We need to get back to the jeep. Contact Torchwood – Pete. Get back up, get help."

Rose nodded, standing slowly with Mickey. "Get ready…now!"

They turned and ran, through the stones, back towards the jeep. As they did so, a harsh roar split the air and a voice yelled.

"Spy!"

"And another!" A blaster shot went over Mickey and Rose's heads and crashed into the ground before them, causing them to run in another direction. They threw themselves behind some of the stones, drawing their weapons as they did so. Mickey shot her a look.

"They're talking English. They weren't before."

"Maybe they're bi-lingual." Rose took a breath to calm herself, before shouting to the waiting aliens. "The Torchwood Institute demands you identify your species and purpose of being on this planet!"

There was the sound of grating laughter from the centre of the stones. "We will only speak to those we can see."

Rose nodded to herself, before pushing herself off the stone she was leaning on and walking out from its cover to face the visitors, Mickey hissing warnings behind her. "The Torchwood Institute demands you identify your species and purpose of being on this planet."

More laughter. The leader (or at least the one who seemed to be the leader) stepped forward, flexing his claws threateningly. "It does, does it? We are the Ardexa. We have come to take you planet. You will bow before us, as you fall to the might of the Ardexian Empire!"

Rose's face became stony. "It's amazing how many people come here and say that. Well, you'll have to go through me. And everyone else _like_ me. Not to mention everyone else who isn't like me." She revealed her gun, which had been concealed behind her back during the short conversation. "And I don't go down easy."

The Ardexian's looked at her gun warily. "You will die, girl."

"I don't care. This is our planet. We will not be taken over without a fight!"

"Yeah," said Mickey, stepping out beside Rose. "Two against five. Gotta admit, I like those odds."

The Ardexians growled again, raising their own weapons. There was a silent moment between the invaders and the defenders, before one fired at Mickey and Rose and they split up, dodging behind stones, firing as they went.

The air was suddenly full of the sound of gunfire and yells. It was Mickey shed first blood, catching one of the scouts on the shoulder and knocking out one of his tubes. He went down like a stone, a green smoke-like gas leaking out of the disconnected pipe. The remaining four yelled in anger, firing back at Mickey, who narrowly avoided loosing a hand. Rose raised her own gun, firing around one of the stones at the group of aliens, who were looking for Mickey. One of her shots hit an Ardexian in the shoulder, and the wailing alien sank to the ground in pain. After that, with one of their own down, one wounded and nothing to show for it, the remaining Ardexians came after the two of them into the stones themselves.

It became a giant game of cat and mouse. The stones provided an almost comical chase, as alien and human both attempted to catch the other. Rose ran around, trying to be as quiet as possible, straining her ears for any sound of alien breathing or running. She fired a few stray shots from her blaster as she ran across an open space, but nothing came of it. After many traded shots with no result, Rose found herself backing away from three of the remaining four aliens, her blaster raised as they closed in. One was the alien she had wounded earlier. She knew she wouldn't be fast enough to shot them both, so the best she could do was kill one and die trying to get the other two. Death was no longer a worry to her – she had been in many life-threatening situations (both with and without the Doctor, and then many more situations after he left), and had realised it was just he way it went. If she was to die fighting aliens, so be it.

She backed into something that wasn't stone. Seeing as she wasn't shot dead, it couldn't be one of the Ardexians, yet she could still hear Mickey taunting the remaining alien. So who…?

There was the sound of movement. A small metal tube with a glowing blue tip appeared next to her, held out by a _very_ familiar hand.

"I thought you said that it can't hurt, kill or maim." Her voice shook slightly.

"It can't. But it can screw up breathing aparatieses. Aparatusus. Aparati. Apar…oh, you get the idea." The Doctor flicked the sonic screwdriver on, and his face twitched in a slight smile as the breathing tubes disconnected and the alien they were connected to dropped where it stood. Rose took this as a cue and pulled the trigger of her blaster, her shot hitting an Ardexian in the face. It, too, went down, and the remaining one took off, back into the mists between the stones.

Rose lowered her smoking gun, pausing for a moment before she looked around at the man who had helped her, who she had dreamed of, waited for. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could a yell shattered the silence, and both her and the Doctor ran off in the direction of Mickey's voice. The mists had descended lower now, so visibility was impaired, and Rose didn't see the Ardexian leap out at her from between two stones – nor did the Doctor, who was a little way ahead of her because she hated running with a gun.

After she fell, the Ardexian on top of her, it rolled off and struggled up. She had lost her gun – it had flown out of her hands as a result of the surprise of the impact, and now was lying lost in the mists. She noticed the Ardexian, too had no gun. She didn't like hand to hand. This could get very bad.

The Ardexian ran at her again, and Rose had only a split second to react, leaping to the side to avoid contact. The Ardexian hissed at her and came again, its claws bared. Rose didn't move fast enough and felt the claws rip at the top of her arm. She involuntarily yelped in pain, her hand feeling blood through the material. Rose drew her combat knife from its sheath, dimly registering two things in the heat of battle. One, Mickey was okay, running next to the Doctor towards her. And Secondly, the Ardexian was coming at her again to try and kill her.

This time, Rose met the assault head on; swiftly stabbing forward with the knife as the Ardexian's claws lightly raked the side of her neck. It stopped, the power of its attack now gone, and as Rose withdrew her knife it slid off the blade to the ground. She stood above the body for a moment, before she wiped the blood from the blade and returned it to the sheath on her belt. She turned.

Mickey looked pale, and blood was trickling from a gash on his forehead. He was smiling at her, though. That was a good sign. And next to her…the figure Rose had dreamed about for the past two years. The man who had left her alone on a desolate Norwegian beach; the man she had fallen in love with. He was smiling too, a smile that she remembered so well.

She reached out an arm to each of them, smiling herself. She felt so tired. Maybe it was battle fatigue; maybe shock; maybe overwhelming relief. Either way, she felt exhausted, couldn't make sense of the world. She just let the two guys, whom she loved and trusted more than any others, take her back to the jeep, while they talked over her head. Rose was only dimly aware of their conversation.

"You gonna to come back to Torchwood?"

"Yeah. It'd be great to see everyone again. The TARDIS is pretty safe, I'd bet, and that portal ain't going anywhere."

"What was going on – on the other side?"

"Same really, just more of them. Why it came through to here I don't know. The other side is at Stonehenge, too. But on Earth – your original Earth, that is. There's also a ship there. Took care of it."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Dissolved it, Mickey-boy."

It was around here that Rose stumbled. She couldn't think right. Couldn't walk right.

"Rose? What's wrong with here, Doctor?"

"It's just the venom on those claws. Ardexian claws have venom, which dulls the mind and the senses – the prey (or Rose, in this case) slowly falls asleep, allowing the Ardexian to win an unfair fight. She'll be asleep for about four, five hours. After that, she'll be fine."

Rose felt herself being guided onto something soft – the backseat of the jeep. She slid into sleep listening to the voices of Mickey and the Doctor. _He was back…_

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Yeah, he's back! Can't really do a reunion fic without bringing him back, I guess. Or getting Rose to him. Whatever… heh, hope you're enjoying it so far.


	3. Chapter 3

Next chapter! Yayness. My thanks to all who reviewed. It makes my day to read them!

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Rose's eyes slowly opened. She was lying on the floor, in the Ghostwatch room. Rose, at least called it that, as there was no Ghostwatch here and never had been – but it was the only thing she could associate the function of the room with. After he left, after the closing of the breath, the Ghostwatch room had no real purpose – except to Rose. She would come here and lie next to the wall or sit against it, just remembering. After the depression and grief fell away, it became her space, the place where she could go to relax and get away from the world. The other Torchwood members who had been present on that day and survived didn't talk about what had happened as an unspoken rule, and 'Rose's Room' was left alone by almost all.

She suspected she had fallen asleep by accident – and had _such _a strange dream. About Stonehenge, and the Doctor, and the…Ardexians? She sat up, hissing in pain as her scratched arm began to hurt. She looked at the now bandaged wound, its presence taking a moment to click. But if it had been real, then…no, it couldn't…could it…? She scanned the room quickly. Behind a now deserted desk, hair as messy as ever, and watching her with bright, intelligent eyes, was the Doctor.

She stood, unsure of what to say or do. Maybe she was sick, a fever contracted from the infected scratches, and this was all a hallucination. Maybe this was still a dream. Maybe it was real…

"How do you feel?" he said it quietly, calmly, almost as if they hadn't been apart.

Rose took a moment to respond. "Um, yeah, fine, I think. Am I dreaming?"

He grinned. "Well, if I'm your dream, then you're pretty lucky!" His grin faded after a moment, and he stood.

Rose was still trying to make sense of things. "But how am I here? Wasn't I at Stonehenge?"

"You got scratched by an Ardexian," said the Doctor, pointing at her bandaged arm. "Ardexian venom puts the victim slowly to sleep. You've been asleep about five hours. It's evening, now."

Rose nodded. That was a simple enough explanation. "And…and you…you're…real?" It sounded stupid, but it mattered so much. So much.

The Doctor seemed to understand this, and didn't make any sarcastic or joking remarks; he merely nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. Consciously, Rose didn't know what to do, but soon found herself walking towards him. He moved out from behind the desk and began to move towards her too. They stopped, facing each other.

Rose was on the verge of tears, and tried to find her voice. "I…I can touch you this time? The world won't collapse or rip in half or anything?"

He nodded, the beginnings of tears in his own eyes. As Rose began to cry in earnest, she felt the familiar embrace of his arms around her, and cried harder. He was really here – this was no dream. _Her Doctor._ He was back.

When she felt her tears stopping, she pulled out of his arms to look at him. He looked exactly the same: there was no sign of regeneration or scars. Who knows how long it had been for him? She was sure it wasn't two years.

"Look at you. Rose Tyler. Torchwood agent extraordinaire and deadly alien fighting machine. It's good to see you're making yourself useful."

Rose smiled despite her tears. "I've missed you so much."

"And I you. It's weird travelling alone – I'd forgotten what it felt like. I've never felt so alone. Now…" he paused, looking down, trying to find the right words. "Now that Gallifrey is gone. You were my first companion since the…since _it_ happened. It almost made it impossible to bear. Everywhere I went I was reminded of you."

Rose vaguely waved a hand around her. "I never thought a place I'd call home could feel so weird. I suppose Torchwood acts as sort-of compensation to travelling with you. It means I'm still fighting aliens and get to see extraordinary things. But there's no Doctor here, no TARDIS. That's its problem. You're missing. I just…I can't believe that you're back."

"Believe it. I'm solid, I'm real."

"Unlike the last time I saw you." She paused as memories of the day came back. The feeling of despair and loss as he vanished…the unsaid words that hung in the air.

"I'm so sorry about that. I thought I had more time. Strange, isn't it – I have all the time in the world, really, but when it came down to it I didn't have nearly enough." He gave her a small smile.

Not knowing if it was the right thing to say, Rose hesitantly asked, "What were you going to say? That day on the beach?"

"Can't you guess?" He bent down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. She looked up into his eyes, as he bent his head again, and kissed her properly. Rose closed her eyes, surrendering. It was pure and simple, yet full of passion. She felt light as air in his arms. It was perfect.

He had been a father once. It didn't matter. He was over one thousand years old, a time travelling alien from an extinct planet, the last of the Time Lords. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that they were together again.

When they broke apart, the Doctor leant his head on Rose's, adding softly. "I love you."

They stood together for a moment in silence, before the Doctor moved his head off hers.

"By the way – why did Mickey bring you here? Not to Torchwood, I mean, but to this room? It _is_ the room I'm thinking of, I'm certain. The opposite to the Ghostwatch room."

Rose bit her lip. "Because after you closed the breach this was where I was. I stayed and I…hammered on the wall. I wanted to get back to you. Even after the beach, this was where I would come and cry." She moved away from the Doctor, walking over to the blank white wall and placing her hand on it. "It made me feel closer to you. I don't know why, but it always did. Most of the Torchwood staff know it as 'Rose's Room'. It's my place: I come here to relax."

"Right. So, time to catch up, I think." He lent against the wall, grinning at her as he slowly slid until he was sitting, back to the wall. "What's been happening with the great clan Tyler?"

Rose slid down next to him. "Well, Pete's now head of Torchwood, mum's his assistant – oh, don't look like that," she added, for the Doctor had raised his eyebrows, "Mickey and I work as field agents and we're still defending the Earth. You'd be surprised at mum now. She only works part time because of Dominic - my little brother. But she can tell the difference between a Slitheen and a Sycorax, understand half of what we say..."

The Doctor nodded, and Rose could see an 'I'll-believe-that-when-I-see-it' look in his eye. "I'm serious, she's getting real good now."

"Oh, yes, and I believe you."

Rose hit him on the shoulder. "Liar. You shouldn't be so mean. Anyway, we all live together in this big place of Pete's, it's really great."

"So you were at Stonehenge on Torchwood business, yes?"

"Yeah. Got a report that there was a lay-line energy increase, and the agent that had been sent out – Chris – had been lost from contact. Pete sent Mickey and I to find out what was up."

"Chris? Was he the guy with the flag through him?"

Rose nodded, and he pulled a face. "Ah. That was disgusting."

"So we got there, saw the Ardexians, fought…and you know the story from there."

"I do, riiight."

Rose turned to look at him. "So what have you been doing?"

"Oh, you know me. Going wherever I feel like. I was just around. By the way – I probably should've asked this earlier – how long has it been?"

Rose though for a moment. "Almost two years."

The Doctor appeared taken aback. "Really? It's only been about three months for me."

"Yeah, well, time's different in the TARDIS, right? Anyway, how are you here? You said I couldn't ever see you again. You're proving yourself wrong, you know."

"Where do I begin? Ah, ok. So the TARDIS lands on Earth – your original earth – and, as usual, there are reports of this massive ship out by Stonehenge, right? So I go to check it out, like I do, and I find this Ardexian scout cruiser, from one of their battle fleets. I mean, they're _brilliant_ ships, those little cruisers! All sorts of fun things inside…all right, all right, don't look at me like that - I'm getting there. So they want to take over earth, no surprises there. That's all anyone wants to do with you lot. So, they make this portal thingie, form Stonehenge to their mother ship, but what do you know - it ends up here! Before that, though, I had been onboard their ship and programmed in the self-destruct code. It's fantastic how many ships have them. So, their ship's gone, only way to go is forward. Get confused, as this side isn't exactly what they were expecting. Right, so they meet you two, big fight, they die. The rest you know."

"But…that doesn't explain how you got here."

"I…went…through…the...portal..."

"Yes, and I _was_ listening, Doctor. But you said the portal was meant to go to their mother ship or whatever?

"And so I did."

"So…" Rose waited for the Doctor to continue his explanation, but he didn't. He just sat next to her, looking at her expectantly. "So...why did the portal come out here, then?"

"Ah! Now she asks the right questions. The answer…I have no idea." He winked. "Theories, yes, proper answer, no."

"So what do you think?" Rose asked in exasperation. Even theory was better than nothing at all.

"Well, historically, Stonehenge has always had these weird energy signals. That's why so may people think it's mystic – there are all sorts of things running through there – lay lines, fault lines, spatial breaks and anything else you care to name. The fabric of space, and time, and reality had always had a weakness in that area. The only thing I can think of is that somehow the portal matrix fed so deeply into this energy that is reversed the magnetic polarity of the destination, hence causing a break in time space and reality that would not be realised until crossing had already happened."

"So, the particles of the matrix fed into the system and aligned themselves with similar ones unknowingly causing the reverse of the magnetic polarity, and also the ionic signature of the portal. It's a strong, but relatively simple bridge across the Void spanning two dimensions, but is still a rip – just one which won't fracture. The likelihood of it working as smoothly as it did is near none."

The Doctor looked surprised. "You have been doing your homework then." Rose grinned. "Yeah, that's Torchwood for you. You pick stuff up."

"The thing is, it's near impossible for that to happen. As far as I could test, the bridge was stable. It better be, the TARDIS is on the other side."

"Maybe Fortuna was smiling on us?"

The Doctor's face split into a grin. "Maybe she is. Ah, hello Mickey."

Mickey's face (which had appeared around the door) smiled. "I'm not interrupting or anything?"

"Nah," said Rose, getting up. "He was just explaining how he got here."

"Yeah, told me before." Mickey could see Rose's eyes glowing, and she was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. The Doctor's completely unexpected return had really livened her, and Mickey could understand that. He was no Doctor, but he'd always be there for her. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Said Rose, coming over to him, the Doctor following behind. Rose gave Mickey a hug. "Thanks for bringing me here."

"No worries. Now, your mum wants to see you. Pete too, I think."

"Oh, sure."

Rose led the way back to Pete's office. When she stepped inside, she was immediately set upon by Jackie, who grabbed her daughter in a tight hug.

"Oh! You could have died!"

"Mum, you say that every time. I'm fine, honest. A scratch or two. And look what the cat dragged in." She smiled at the Doctor, who had followed her into the office. Mickey was behind him, and closed the door.

"Yeah, I know! Can't believe it, eh?"

Pete, behind his desk, motioned for everyone to sit down. "What's the report?"

"Ardexians. Got a new one to add to the database. Make a special note of the venom on the claws."

"Will do. Now, situation report?"

Rose and Mickey looked at one another – business as usual. Mickey began. "Well, we got to Stonehenge around one thirty. No sign of Chris, or his equipment, no sign of anything. Stonehenge seemed to be all clear."

"The readouts from the equipment all seemed to be regular and approving what the usual scanners had picked up," Rose interjected. "So we made our way to the centre. Once there, a space between the archways glowed red and shadows were visible on the other side."

"We hid, saw them appear. Told them to state name of species and purpose. They did so. Ardexians, coming to conquer our planet. The usual. They fired first, and it turned into as fight. There were only five; they're all dead."

"What about the other side of the portal?" Pete wanted to know.

"Destroyed by our recent reappearing friend," grinned Mickey. "Self-destruct, right?"

The Doctor nodded. "Every ship's got one. Design flaw, in my opinion. Makes it easy to, well, destroy. Or, dissolve, in this case…"

Jackie, who hadn't said a word during the report, now spoke up. "What about the portal? Is it like last time?"

"Well, yeah. Remember the thing with the glass I showed Yvonne, Jackie? Like that, but without the other fractures. It's stable, but it's still a rip in time which will weaken over time if it isn't dealt with. I'll fix it from the other side."

Rose tried to hide her disappointment. "You...you're leaving already?" She was aware that everyone was watching her, but she met the Doctor's eyes with a level stare.

"Yeah. I've got a girl waiting, remember? She's big, and blue, and I'm the only one who knows how to push her buttons."

Rose laughed. "Oh yeah, of course. Where's she parked? Is she safe?"

"Safe as houses. I'd…better get going. The sooner that rip is dealt with, the easier it is to fix." Secretly he knew if he didn't go now, he wasn't ever going to leave her side. He couldn't put her through what he did last time. He had to fade away; now, quickly…_you've already said it though. She knows you love her. Leaving will never be easy, not matter how quick it is…_

He stood, everyone else following his lead. As he left, he gave Rose a meaningful look. It was her choice; it had been long ago when she came back. Fate had taken them apart, and her life was now different. She might be comfortable here. Who was he to assume she wanted to come with him now?

"Mum, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, sweetheart." Jackie held back while Mickey and Pete both left.

"Mum - "

Jackie shook her head and stopped Rose talking. "I know what you're gonna say. You made that decision long ago, you told me. It was ripped from you, and now the chance has been given back. I won't stop you, Rose. Just promise you'll be careful."

Rose's tears had stared during Jackie talking. "Oh, mum. I love you so much, thank you, thank you."

Jackie hugged her daughter. "He loves you, you know. I can see it when he looks at you. Go on – follow him, love him, live everyday for me – and Pete and Mickey."

"Okay. I can do that."

Jackie followed her daughter out of the office, reflecting on how much everything had changed. Life was so very different now – she'd never dreamed something like this would happen, not even when the Doctor came into their lives. A parallel earth, a parallel Torchwood – and Pete, of course. Jackie knew Rose wanted to go with the Doctor, but also knew she would never see her daughter again.

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Aw, poor Jacks. Anyway, review please, hope it's still okay!


	4. Chapter 4

Lasty last last…

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Doctor, Pete and Mickey had gone down to the lower levels to get transport to Stonehenge. Jackie and Rose made a quick detour back to their house, where Rose gathered up everything she wanted and threw it into a bag, and Jackie organised her nanny to stay longer for Dominic. When they met up with the others at Torchwood, there was a van waiting for them. Pete drove, with Jackie beside him, while the Doctor, Rose and Mickey piled in the back.

The drive to Stonehenge, which took the regular three hours (especially with Pete at the wheel), was filled, at first, with a thoughtful silence, until someone made a reference to something, which sparked off a tangent of stories, debates and personal anecdotes. The Doctor, Pete and Mickey soon were immersed in a debate about the positives and negatives about various pieces of alien technology.

"Nah, if you superinfused it to the mainboard it would blow!"

"Mickey, I've done it before!"

"Yeah, but was it a direct patch to the mainboard or to a subsidiary matter control port?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, it was, but it still worked and technically that's patching it straight to the mainboard. Rose, can you settle something?"

"What?" Rose looked up from where she had been quietly talking with Jackie.

"What's better? A Jathar Sunglider, modified with a duo-technic ionic extrapolator, or a Chula Warship, like the one Jack had, but with a slipstream engine and a waveform transmitter?"

Rose attempted to find some English in his sentence. What answer would be appropriate? Think of technology…pretend you know what you're on about…"Oh, I don't know. I'd probably have the Sunglider, but with a slipstream engine and a neutron tetramorphic system."

Both the Doctor and Mickey looked at one another. "That might work, you know. That might work…"

Rose rolled her eyes as Mickey and the Doctor went back to their debate about the Sunglider and what could and couldn't be done to improve it. This was punctuated occasionally by comments from Pete, who, at the wheel, wasn't talking part as much as he would have liked to.

"Mum, I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

Rose kept her voice low, aware that their conversation could be listened in on. "I don't know if I want to leave. I've got a stable life here, a good job, friends, and family. I don't know if I could never see you again now I have to go through it. I don't know what to do. I want to both stay and go. If only there was a definite way of being able to come back…"

Jackie raised her hand and placed it on Rose's. "Sweetheart, you do what feels right. I'd like you to stay, but I know you want to go. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't take this chance. And what about him?"

"What about him?"

"You love him, we can all see it. And he loves you, am I right?" Rose nodded, a shy smile on her lips. Jackie nodded. "There you go. Would you make him leave, alone?"

"He really is alone, you know. His planet's gone…"

Jackie watched Rose as she stared out at the upcoming stone circle, dimly visible in the headlights. "I just don't know if I can never see you again. And Mickey, and Pete…what should I do?"

Pete parked the van and the five got out, looking to the stone circle, which was surrounded by darkness; it was about ten thirty at night, after all. The Doctor walked towards it ahead of the others, and Rose ran to catch him up.

"Oh no – you're not slipping off again."

"Again?"

"Well, last time it was fade, but you know what I mean."

"Rose…" he hesitated, unsure of his words. "You still want to come? With me, and the TARDIS?"

She linked her arm though his. "Yeah…"

"But what about this world? Jackie, Mickey, Pete – they're your family."

"So are you," Rose replied quietly.

"You'll never see them again. Ever."

"I know…I know…I've thought about this, and I made my choice long ago – I told you that two years ago, at Torchwood. The original, that is. I went back to help you of my own free will and choice, you know that. Mum knows and so does Mickey. I haven't changed my mind."

"I can't take you away from this." He stopped walking, near the stones. "I just can't take you away from all this. You finally have a good life, here on a single planet."

Rose stood in front of the Doctor, looking at him calmly. "It's not good. You're missing. I never thought I would see you again, yet here we are. I'm coming with you. No argument."

The Doctor met her stare, his eyes glowing in admiration and love. "I was hoping that you would say that. Travelling alone was terrible…but I didn't want to just _assume_ you would come."

Rose kissed him on the cheek. "You're my Doctor. How could I not come?"

They walked into the centre of the stones together, and stood looking at the portal. It was still glowing a bloody red colour. Mickey, Jackie and Pete came up behind them.

"So…this is goodbye, yeah?" Mickey said quietly to Rose.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Rose felt uncomfortable. Mickey's faith in her had lasted so long, and through her constant vanishing and re-appearing he had always been there for her, listening for the sound of the TARDIS and helping them on many occasions. She owed him so much. "Mickey…you…find a girl, get married, yeah? Live a normal life on my behalf." She had tears in her eyes and could see them running down Mickey's face silently. She hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek as she did so. "I'll never forget everything you did for me. Before and after I met the Doctor. The girl who gets you will be so lucky."

Mickey smiled, despite his tears. "I'll call one of my kids Rose. And when Dommy's older I'm gonna tell him about his adventurous sister, who ran off to the stars. Make sure you take care of yourself."

She nodded, turning to Pete and Jackie, who were standing together. Pete smiled, holding out his arms and sweeping her into a hug. "You really are my daughter. Just promise me you'll take care of that Doctor, so we won't have to world jump to bail him out."

"Yeah, can do. Thanks for everything, Pete. And make sure you look after mum," Rose whispered in his ear, before turning to Jackie.

Jackie's face was dry, with no sign of tears. She swept her daughter up in her arms; whispering as she did so, "don't worry about us. You just go."

"No, mum. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through, both before and after I met him. I vanished for a year, was always in trouble…I wish I had been a better daughter."

"You were perfect, sweetheart. Now don't you worry. Have a good life, yeah?" She cupped Rose's face in her hands. "We'll be fine here. She passed Rose her bag, which Pete had brought up from the van, then turned to the Doctor. "Look after her."

He smiled, looking between Jackie and Rose. "I swear to you, Jackie, I'll protect her. I can't guarantee her safely, and you know what it's like now – but I will do everything in my power to protect her."

Rose went to stand beside him, her bag over one shoulder. Together, always together, they stood before the portal.

"We just walk through, yeah?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much how it works."

Rose turned one last time before she walked through. "Bye. Thanks for everything. I love you all. And I know they're just cheesy words, but I can't think of anything else to say."

She waved to them as the Doctor held out his hand for her. He turned to Pete, Jackie and Mickey. "Bye then. Don't forget me – Time Lord's don't exist in this universe." His smile faltered a little. "Thanks. Keep defending the earth."

He looked at Rose, who reached out and put her hand in his. Together they walked through the red glow and came out the other side. It was night here, too, exactly the same place only with no one else around. No Jackie, no Mickey, no Pete.

The Doctor released Rose's hand and kneeled down by some equipment. "This is the portal link – phew, it's still holding. Once it's gone, the gap should close by itself. Is there anything that might need to be said or done before I close it?" He looked up at her.

"No," Rose said. "What's done is done." She watched anxiously as he disconnected a heap of wires, and the red haze before them faded to nothing. Rose sighed. That was it. No more Jackie, Mickey, Pete…

"Are you alright?" said the Doctor from next to her. Rose nodded, still staring at the point of where the gateway had been. "Yeah. I will be." She turned away then her eyes spotting the major thing out of place in their current surroundings. The TARDIS seemed to stand out more than usual amongst the green and grey, it's windows glowing warmly. She walked over to the door and opened it.

Stepping inside, Rose felt disbelief and relief. She was back. Dropping her bag onto the floor grilling, she walked thoughtfully over to the console and placed her hands upon it, being careful not to touch anything that might kill them. She _really _was back here. The console was warm beneath her fingers, the light flickering.

The Doctor was leaning on one of his ship's inner supports behind Rose, watching her. She turned to him, still leaning on the console. "I'm home."

He smiled, bouncing up off the support and wandering over to her, wrapping one arm around her waist and typing on the console keyboard with the other. "Then let's get going. Where to?"

"I don't know. You _always_ ask me and I never know."

Rose couldn't believe this was real. He was here. She was back inside the TARDIS. It was like always…two wanderers among the stars. Two star-crossed lovers – in the sense that they crossed the stars, that is. Not the doom-filled sense – that had been and gone, they had been separated, but now reunited.

The Doctor pulled a face. "Well, what would you like to do?"

"I don't know!" She grinned at him and he let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Let's just go through time and space as always."

The Doctor laughed aloud at this, leaping around the console randomly. "_Let's just go_… brilliant phrase, that!"

The TARDIS slowly faded from Salisbury Plain, leaving nothing behind, no sign that for once, aliens had actually been there, as so many had always speculated.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Heh. Don't ask about the boys in the van, I just could imagine them having that sort of discussion.

So yeah. That's it. Thankies so much to all people who reviewed. It's nice to read really cool reviews. I'll hopefully be writing again soon, but my exams are coming up so I'll do it when I can! Keep listening for the TARDIS!


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